This half day, interactive training is built for employers, HR and supervisory staff, RCO leaders, and peer workforce professionals who want to make their workplaces more supportive of people in and seeking recovery. The session defines what a recovery friendly workplace is, examines the barriers that keep people in early recovery out of the labor force, makes the business case for hiring people in recovery, and walks through the culture and policy changes that support it. Offers 3 NAADAC CE credits.

What You’ll Learn

• How recovery is defined across SAMHSA and Recovery Research Institute frameworks, and why multiple pathways are all valid
• What distinguishes a recovery friendly workplace, including specific policies and practices drawn from the DOL Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit
• The barriers people in early recovery face when seeking employment, from transportation and childcare to judicial history and stigma
• How language shapes bias toward people with substance use disorders, and which terms research shows carry negative versus positive associations
• The business case for recovery friendly hiring, including turnover savings, absenteeism data, and retention findings from the National Safety Council and FADAP
• ADA protections and employer obligations related to substance use disorder and alcohol use in the workplace
• The elements of a written recovery friendly policy, plus employee education and supervisor training practices that make it work

What You’ll Take Away

Participants leave having drafted a return to work plan in small groups for employees returning from treatment, along with a language audit method for reviewing internal and external materials for stigmatizing terminology, and a practical checklist of employer actions covering flexible scheduling, EAP access, confidentiality safeguards, and RCO partnership.

Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI088037 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.